The House on Blackberry Hill (Jewell Cove 1)

“It’s okay. I’ve got you,” she heard Tom say.

When he lowered them to sit on the floor, she began to cry. Abby wasn’t sure what had just happened. She only knew that she’d felt things, seen things, heard things, that were shocking and traumatizing and …

She was going out of her mind, she thought wildly. This kind of thing didn’t really happen. Oh, God …

Her body started to shake.

This was how Edith died.

Abby remembered the rage on Elijah’s face as he shook his wife. She’d think about the how of what had just happened later. Right now she was simply going to hold on to a warm, full-of-life Tom Arseneault.

“What is it?” he asked gently. “You’ve got to stop crying. Please, Abs. Please don’t cry anymore, it’s killing me.”

She took a shuddering breath and sniffled. “I’m sorry…”

“Don’t apologize. Just tell me what’s wrong. You nearly fainted just now. I saw you going and—” His voice broke off on a crack of emotion.

“I felt so strange,” she whispered, her breath hitching, “and there was this buzzing in my ears … And you caught me. If you hadn’t I’d…” Her breath hitched and she shuddered. She would have fallen head over heels down those stairs.

“Have you eaten today?”

“I don’t remember.”

Her head rested in the curve of his neck and his T-shirt was wet from her tears, clinging to the skin of his chest. She pushed away, just a little so she could look into his face. The next words were so hard to say, but she had to tell someone. “Edith was pushed the night she died, Tom. Elijah killed her. He was threatening to send Iris away and they fought. It was terrible. She kept pleading with him and he pushed her and she fell.”

“Come on, Abby. There’s no way to know that for sure. Not now. It was decades ago.” He rubbed her arms with his hands.

Abby swallowed. “I saw it, Tom. I saw it all happen.”

/> Tom froze. “Wait a minute,” he said slowly. “Are you saying you saw Edith again?”

Abby nodded her head. “Yes, well, no. I mean, I saw her again. The night of Jess’s candle class.”

They both remembered what happened that night. And what had happened the next morning. He squeezed her fingers, making her look up at him. His gaze searched hers. “The loose board upstairs. It wasn’t a coincidence, was it?”

She shook her head. “No, it wasn’t. I saw her, Tom. She took me right up the stairs. Stopped and looked out the back window for a minute and then stood in the very spot where that box was hidden.”

“And then what happened?”

“She disappeared.” She blinked up at him, uncertain. If she hadn’t seen it for herself, she would think she was crazy. Did Tom? Or did he think she was making it all up? If he didn’t believe this, he’d never believe what just happened. “You believe me, don’t you?”

He rubbed a hand over her hair. Did he believe her? Tom wasn’t sure, but he knew Abby and she wasn’t crazy and she wasn’t a liar. He shrugged. “There’s a lot of superstition among fishermen, and I’ve heard my share of stories. Who am I to say? If you say you saw her, I believe you.”

A warmth filled her then, a feeling so wonderful and pure that she nearly cried again. She hadn’t expected his unequivocal support.

“That day when we found the box of letters? I’d been dreaming that morning, just before you arrived. I saw bits and pieces of what happened then but couldn’t put it all together. But just now, when I touched that railing … it was like I was there, too, Tom. Like I was her. I can’t explain it. It’s crazy. But this whole thing is crazy. I just know what I know. And what I know is that Elijah shoved her away and she tumbled down these very stairs.”

Her eyes were deep and sad. “No matter what she did, she didn’t deserve that. She was a mother to those two babies. She loved them and they had to grow up without her.” Abby began to cry again, thinking of her own family, as Tom murmured words of comfort and held her close. She wrapped her arms around his middle, needing his warmth.

“Are you all right now?” Tom’s raspy voice was warm in her ear when she’d finally quieted. She didn’t want to let go. The moment she did, everything would change. Not in any big, earth-shattering way. But once this moment was gone, it would be gone forever, and she wanted his arms around her just a little longer.

“I’m fine. Sad, but fine.”

“You should eat something.”

“I will, I promise.”

He took a finger and tilted up her chin. “That’s not a promise I believe you’ll keep. I’ve been working in the kitchen, remember? I know there’s nothing here besides half a box of crackers. Why don’t you wash your face and we’ll get some fresh air. Find you something in town.”